Home Sweet Home Place

Hittin' the Slopes!

2012-01-03T15:11:00.001-08:00

After getting our little ski bunnies dressed for the slopes...

We were finally able to hit the mountain!

Grace went down the magic carpet run one time and when asked if she wanted to do it again she said no! I want to ride that thing...and pointed at the chair lift.

The next thing I knew Court had swooped her off onto the chair lift. So I decided to take Charlotte for her first runs on the magic carpet.

She LOVED it! Unfortunately, all hands were on deck so no one was able to video tape Charlotte's first time on skis. (This mommy is NOT happy about that!) But I have permanently recorded her smile and squeal in my mind for all eternity!

When Court finally returned with an ECSTATIC Grace, we decided to both take her up on the chair lift!

After making two more trips with Grace up and down the chair lift, we finally went back to see how Charlotte was fairing on the magic carpet with her grandparents.

She probably went up and down at least 15 times but I HAD to get at least one run on video, so I took her up one more time.

I know in the video she doesn't look like she is having fun but I am telling you she did and her 3+ hour nap this afternoon tells me I might have pushed that light run for posterity's sake.

We'll be shredding again tomorrow!

First Day Out...in a while

2012-01-02T15:13:00.000-08:00

Finally, feeling healthy we ventured out to rent boots and skis for Grace.

Can you tell she's excited?

They even got a lift to the car on the wagon with Boppa!

We felt zoo good that we even went out to dinner and toured some of the ice sculptures around the Lodge at Sun Valley.

I took these with my iPhone and completely forgot the darn thing now has flash capabilities! UGH!

Dad and his girls.

REALLY wish I had activated the flash!

UGH!

"Ringing" in the New Year

2012-01-02T07:23:00.000-08:00

So my plan of going to bed ten minute after Grace and Charlotte, like I've done the past couple of years, completely back fired this year. I was awake when the clock struck midnight but not by choice and not with a glass of champagne in hand.

Nope.

I was sick.

I had finally caught what the girls had been battling that last few days.

This was me on New Year's day!

Believe it or not, I actually look a bit better than how I felt...so here is proof just how bad I was feeling! hahah

Grace was rounding the corner of her sickness and we thought she needed a bit of fresh air. Cabin fever was getting pretty intense around here. So Court, took her outside to do some sledding.

Her first go at "sledding".

I peeled myself off the couch for five minutes to take these photos from the porch...using my fancy-schmancy-telephoto-lens. I wish!!

(Already making my wish list for 2012!)

There they are - one pink speck and one black speck.

I made sure to get the background because it is breathtaking!

A few cropped shots to see Miss Grace up close in her sled!

A find at Target for $7!

While Grace was getting a dose of playing in the snow, Charlotte was mastering the iPhone.

Have I mentioned we need to get healthy and get outside?!?!

Healthy New Year!

2012-01-01T21:05:00.000-08:00

The day after Christmas, the tree was undecorated, the house cleaned, the girls packed up (me not so much - I have forgotten everything - extra contacts (currently going w/out one contact in my left eye, curling iron just to name a few) and all those final lose ends of the post-Christmas celebration were finalized. Yes! It was time for our annual post-holiday road trip to Idaho!

First stop, my parents' house. One hiccup. The ~~plague~~ flu had hit their house. To go or not to go? That was the question.

We hee'd and haw'd. Do we put the kids at risk of the flu? We went through it last year where we all got sick (except Charlotte) and it was hands down the worst week of our lives.

But if we didn't go, we'd miss "Christmas" with my family, my sister's 30th birthday celebration and my Grandma visiting all the way from Indiana.

We decided to go.

We got sick.

So for the last five days we've been working through the flu. The kind that makes your darling 15 month old daughter who is bouncing along - singing to herself - projectile vomit in your face while you are de-robing your three year old who has just vomited all over her new Christmas outfit.

Oh the joys of parenthood, right?

So as I catch up on the blog after a week of being house bound and see/hear/read about the resolutions of others, I can't help but hope and wish for health. For us. For you. Health.

Healthy (and happy) New Year!

Christmas 2011

2011-12-27T08:15:00.000-08:00

He came! He came! Santa...he came!

We didn't discover that Santa had come until well after 8:30 - in the morning! I think this might be the very last Christmas morning Court and I aren't roused from our beds before dawn and boy did we enjoy that little bit of extra sleep!

Helping ... I mean all that wine drinking, music listening and ~~preparing~~ waiting really tuckers you out! So as I tell myself every year...next year I've got to be more organized...but onto the merry making!

Elife - our incredibly generous Elf on the Shelf - left little notes for girls...

...as well as some chocolate treats all the way from the North Pole!! We won't see him until next December!

Then it was off to see if Santa like the cookies we left him! But first Grace got distracted by the one gift from Santa that he didn't wrap...

She calls it her hopper ball and it was a BIG hit!

Our Christmas morning tradition is a bit different than most and definitely most different from what I did as a kid. Trying to mesh traditions from two families is always challenging but even more so when those two families have such different traditions. So Court and I are doing our best to mesh the things most important to us. So here is how we do it.

Wake up.

Open stockings.

Take a break for breakfast.

Shower and Dress.

THEN OPEN PRESENTS!

Presents are opened one at a time and there is a lot of stopping and starting because during all this a Christmas meal has to be made AND the little ones usually require a nap.

Most people are in jaw dropping shock when they hear this is how we do it because again it isn't how most people do it and it isn't the way I did it as a kid! We'll see how this "evolves" over time but the best thing about it that Christmas lasts ALL DAY LONG! It isn't over in five minutes! It lasts ALL DAY LONG!

Looks like Santa ate all the cookies AND filled our stockings!

Grace

Charlotte was just mesmerized by everything!

The presents, the cookies, the chocolate! She loved it!

Grace opening the pink and purple fairies she has been asking for for months!

Wow! Santa really does listen!

Stocking opened and overall magic making officially made, it was time for a fire and our traditional bread dough pancakes for breakfast! Mmmmm!

We also noticed that Santa's reindeer ate all of our yummy handmade reindeer food. How could we tell you ask?

They left behind some evidence.

Each year, we each get one ornament that commemorates the year. Grace gets one. Charlotte gets one and Court and I get one. My parents started this traditions for me and my siblings. When we get older (i.e. move out on our own where we have our own tree to decorate) we are given our collection of ornaments - 20 or so! Because you know those first few years of having your own tree are pretty sparse. You don't have lights, ornaments, a topper - nothing! So my parents gave us a head start on our Christmas ornament collection and so I am doing the same for Grace and Charlotte.

This is this year's ornament. A flamingo to remind us of our unforgettable trip to Miami in the spring of 2011. (Mazel Tov Tarin and Tom!) Unfortunately, I could only find two of these little buggers...but maybe the Easter bunny will track one down for me and Court! ;)

Finally, after all the gifts from family, friends and Santa were opened it was time for Grace's special gift from Mommy and Daddy.

Grace got a doll house which she has already racked up hours of good old fashioned imaginative play!

And little Miss Charlotte got her first car!

As you can see, we are going to have to have a talk with her about texting and driving!!

What does Oprah say?

Arrive alive. Don't text and drive?

Well, Charlotte this will be your first driving lesson!

I didn't take any pictures of our meal. But it turned out well! I tried a new turkey recipe from Ina Garten -the Barefoot Contessa herself...and our conclusion? We won't be making it in the future! It wasn't bad...just not outstandingly delcious.

We'll be sticking to brined turkeys! Much moister and much tastier!

Christmas Eve 2011

2011-12-26T08:19:00.000-08:00

While my plan was to get up super early on Christmas Eve to get a crack at my to-do list before the little ones woke up...

that didn't happen! We spent a leisurely morning snuggling in bed before finally getting up and tackling some of the prep work for Christmas Day dinner.

Lucky for me, I only had one meal to plan for this year as Christmas Eve dinner was being prepared by Manna and Boppa.

We decided it best to spread our reindeer food BEFORE dinner so that it was still light outside and we could capture some pictures.

Reindeer food

We decided to put it on the porch so the camera...uh I mean reindeer were sure to find it!

Can you even believe the weather? It was a bit nippy but no snow!

After Christmas Eve dinner, we started a new tradition.

We decided to go look at lights!

I don't think I have the correct lens for night photos but this was a great light display of a tractor out in the middle of no where all lit up!

Finally, we decided to head home! There was still work to be done in order to get ready for Santa!

But on the way home, we ran into a drive thru nativity!

Basically, a local church set up an outside nativity display and at the entrance they gave you a CD. As you drove through, the CD played music and told you the story of Baby Jesus. It was actually pretty cool and the people involved were quite committed because it was REALLY cold at this point!

This was the only picture that "turned out". It just looks sort of cool but in the waaayy back you can see the star the wise men followed...as did all of us in our cars!

Once we got home, it was time to write our letters to Santa, put out our cookies and say good bye to Elfie as he would be heading back to the North Pole tonight.

The handwriting is ours but the words are all Grace's! Oh! That's her own signature too!

Charlotte's signature.

Once the girls were asleep, we cranked up the Christmas music and cracked open and bottle of wine! Our favorite Christmas tradition!!

Now it was just time to sit back and wait for Santa to come!

Merry! Happy! Joy! Magic!

2011-12-25T03:03:00.000-08:00

Hope it is magical!

Merry Christmas Eve!

2011-12-24T09:21:00.000-08:00

Operation Sit-on-Santa's-Lap

Success!

Now off to bake, cook, clean...you know? Overall magic making!

Merry Christmas Eve!

Breathe

2011-12-23T10:39:00.000-08:00

I have a million things to do and about 36 hours to do them! Anyone in the same boat? (Please say yes!)

Yesterday was baking day...or supposed to be baking day. I had dreams of baking and decorating sugar cookies and all sorts of goodies. But between entertaining the girls and the other daily tasks my day of baking quickly went sideways.

In all the years of baking and decorating sugar cookies, this has been by far my worst. I ended up making 4 different double batches because the dough just wasn't turning out right. Baking went ok. But the frosting proved to be an utter disaster. I couldn't get the consistency right and between having to stop and start my cookie production line in order to referee the endless battles over toys, puzzle pieces and hair pulling, my frosting eventually went bad. UGH.

I think I started at about 8:30 am yesterday and by 5:30 pm I think I had about 15 completed cookies. Seriously.

I am a planner and a to-do lister so by the end of the day my wits were frazzled. FRAZZLED. And I realized I had completely lost the whole point in doing all this baking and decorating and wrapping. For me, it is all about them. Grace and Charlotte. They clearly weren't having fun watching me look at the clock and frantically dive back into the frosting bowl. And I was DEFINITELY not having fun.

So I had to take a deep breath and tell myself that it was ok that 35+ cookies weren't' going to be decorated. I've never left any cookies unfrosted. This was huge for me. The cookies that I somehow managed to frost look so sad and pathetic. They aren't the works of art I had dreamed of...we'll just have to shift that dream to next year - when everyone's (i.e. Charlotte's) attention spans are a bit longer and we aren't climbing on the countertops and knocking over bowls of frosting and sprinkles and driving our mothers to drink....again, I'm not alone in this, right?

We did manage a little fun. Grace frosted and decorated for the first time her very own cookie. This one is extra special and will definitely be displayed for the big man himself on Christmas Eve.

Couldn't really subdue Charlotte with cookie decorating...so I just kept throwing cookies at her.

It worked until the sugar high wore off.

UGH.

Ta Da!

Grace's cookie for Santa. Complete with a missing bite!

Hope you all get your to-do's done but with peace, calm and a smile!

If that doesn't work, throw in a gin and tonic for good measure!

Merry Christmas!

Partay! Family Style

2011-12-23T08:25:00.000-08:00

Tonight was our family shindig...hosted by our nearby relatives!

See Grace's shiner?

She and Charlotte accidentally smacked heads last night and Charlotte's head hit the sweet spot.

It turned almost instantaneously into a black eye! Thank goodness are Santa pics have already been taken!

It was good times!

Really good times!

(OK don't judge him...one of those is for me!)

A really fun family tradition!

One Party Down, One to Go

2011-12-19T01:54:00.000-08:00

It's hard mixing groups of people at parties so I decided to have two birthday parties for Grace this year.

One for family and one for her friends.

I kept the friend party small and followed that age old rule...one friend for each year of life!

It's a good rule because it was a perfect number!

Lucky for me, most of the decorating was done!

I decided to forego a cake for a group of three year olds and offered solely cake pops!

Easy, cute and less clean up!

Plus not a lot of leftovers that my a** so doesn't need!

Charlotte playing with Grace's friends.

Hmmm....reminds me of another little sister I know!

So fun celebrating Grace's 3rd birthday!

Now it's time to focus on Christmas!

Time to make merry and shop!

Grace's 1st Big Girl Gymnastics Class

2011-12-17T14:56:00.000-08:00

There were some tears at first when Mom couldn't join her for class. But after watching the kids running around and having fun she quickly joined in on the fun!

Grace's Hello Kitty Birthday Party

2011-12-16T17:00:00.000-08:00

It has taken ALL MY WILL POWER not to forego my daily tasks of dressing, feeding and all around care taking of myself and the girls in order to get this blog post together...but rest assured...they are fine!

It has taken days to pull it all together, getting on the computer doesn't happen as frequently this time of year, but without further ado...

Grace's 3rd Birthday Party - Hello Kitty Style!

Months ago - the day after Charlotte's first birthday party in fact - I kicked around a few ideas with Grace as to what she wanted for her birthday party. Knowing that the month of December was already going to be chaotic, I ~~chose,~~ ~~pushed,~~ encouraged a Hello Kitty theme.

Now I know character theme birthdays are out these days and a lot of moms I know are anti anything commercial (i.e. Barbie, Dora, Elmo) but come on people! Kids only get to grow up once! And I don't think a Barbie or watching Elmo here and there is going to hurt anyone. Moderation people! Plus, I figured a Hello Kitty themed birthday party would be easy, and selfishly, in the middle of the holidays, an-easy-to-pull-off-party was just what this Mommy needed!

So the Hello Kitty party theme was chosen!

I LOVE cards, stationary, thank you notes... paper products in general...probably the main reason I send out a million cards to friends and family each year.

(In my next life, I want to own, operate, *make??* or just be involved somehow with beautiful paper products. I haven't quite figured out how this will come to fruition but that's what dreams are made of right?)

All good parties start with an invitation...

When I came across this invite, it solidified not only the date of the event but the color scheme.

Pink (of course) and red with polka dots thrown in for good measure! What's not to love?

Next came the party decor....

The Dessert Table

We had all kinds of Hello Kitty goodies...

Cake Pops

Sugar Cookies

Jelly Beans and M&Ms and rock candy

Taffy and mini candy bars wrapped in custom Happy-3rd-Birthday-Grace-Hello-Kitty-wrappers. (Don't think I got a picture of those.)

The Happy Birthday sign was a printable that I assembled but the name banner was made by yours truly!

I turned some cupcake toppers into garland...

and no party is complete without magic wands!

We had both red and pink wands...

with a little Hello Kitty bling for good measure!

Speaking of sweets, let's talk cake!

Isn't she cute?! The cake was made locally and it was perfect!

Not to mention delicious! I think it's the best cake I've ever eaten - HANDS DOWN!

Who knew this gem of a bakery was within an hour of my house?! No more hauling cakes in from Seattle. (I know Auntie M will be relieved to hear that last bit of information!)

The table setting....

The bow on the Hello Kitty placemat is removable and was a little party gift. Keep your eyes open for the girls wearing their bows in later pictures. Darling!

Before our guests arrived, Grace thought it was really funny to tell people she was turning 2...

even though she is full aware that she is actually turning three.

Clearly, she is not excited about the "aging" process.

Grace's special party outfit...

It isn't a party without a tutu!!

(Hmm...have I said that before?! hehe)

Once our guests arrived and the over 21 crowd had a drink in hand...

it was time to get into the Hello Kitty spirit.

We started off with Hello Kitty tattoos!

My mom and I got in on the action...I don't think I have any pictures of us but I do have pictures of Charlotte getting tatoo'd.

Even though I applied Charlotte's tattoo,

as opposed to some stranger

she was not into it...

AT ALL!

Luckily, we had lots of candy on hand and that seemed to take the edge off!

Now that everyone was in the spirit and all "warmed up" with their drinks, it was time to play games!

We played Pin the Bow on Hello Kitty - not super original - but the kids were captivated as I explained how to play. (They'd never heard of Pin the Tail on the Donkey before!)

And then...

*DING DONG*

someone was at the door...

Who is it you guys???

Look at Grace and Charlotte scoping out who is at the door...

A picture couldn't capture the magic but the second Grace got a glimpse of our visitor at the door she raced across the house and threw herself into the arms of

Hello Kitty!!!!!

Can you see Grace's little red tutu under Hello Kitty's head in the picture below?

Grace didn't hesitate. She wasn't scared. She was thrilled. Mesmerized. You've heard that saying, "she lit up" before, right? Well folks, I can't convey strongly enough just that. Grace LITERALLY lit up when she saw Hello Kitty! A reaction I was NOT expecting!

Honestly, I thought she would cry and be horrified...and if that had been the case it would have been just as wonderful and memorable (to me!) Not to mention hysterical!

But I'm telling you she was IN LOVE with Hello Kitty!

Hello Kitty finally was able to make her way into the house...

albeit slowly because Grace was just taken!

There were lots of hugs...

and dancing.

Once the excitement surrounding Hello Kitty kind of died down, we played Pin the Bow on Hello Kitty.

Hello Kitty was careful to give Charlotte some special attention because we all know that siblings of the birthday girl need a little extra love.

Charlotte was thrilled!

Grace couldn't get enough of Hello Kitty!

I wish I had the words to convey what this felt like to witness..but the simplest and most accurate word I can think of is "magical!"

As parents, this is what we strive to provide for our children...magical, memorable moments.

Thanks to Hello Kitty (and Auntie M) mission accomplished!

You know, I hear a lot, oh it's just her 3rd birthday - she won't remember all this!

And it's true.

She probably won't. But you know who will?

Me.

Her dad.

Her grandparents.

Her Auntie M and Uncle Johhnyroo.

It was just as magical for us - maybe even more so - to watch and witness the innocent delight of a three year old on HER special day.

Like I said, we only get to be a kid once.

Eventually, Hello Kitty had to move on to the next party and Grace had to say goodbye.

Grace tried to watch from the window as Hello Kitty left but we explained that Hello Kitty has magic, kind of like Elfie, our Elf on the Shelf, and that we couldn't watch her leave.

Luckily, dinner was ready and the pizza distracted her from Hello Kitty's exit.

See the bows in their hair?

The answer to your question is yes.

I'm wearing a Hello Kitty shirt!

Mmmm....pizza!

Charlotte is ready for cake!

Unfortunately, our fun had to come to an end.

Our guests rounded up their bows, wands and goody bags brimming with Hello Kitty swag...naturally!

Thank you to all those who helped make Grace's special day just that!

Auntie M - There are no words...thank you!

Uncle Johnnyroo - Thanks for capturing our priceless memories.

Grandma and Grandpa - Thanks for moving mountains in order to attend.

And to all our other family, thank you for joining us in Grace's 3rd birthday celebration. It means so much to us!

*Stay tuned for the birthday party back story and information on vendors...

Check Up

2011-12-15T07:19:00.000-08:00

Not that we aren't busy enough without squeezing in a trip to the doctor an hour away!

But we had to do it! So off we went to see how Grace is growing!

Three year olds get the full service treatment - complete with hospital gown covered in penguins and whales!

I think Grace might be coming out of her shy phase. She answered the doctor's questions all loudly enough and clearly enough that he could understand her.

She even told him she wanted to be a doctor when he busted out his stethoscope.

As for Grace's stats:

Height 37 1/4" (53%)

Weight 31.5 lbs. (60%)

So a bit of a shift...she is now slightly heavier than tall but overall in good shape!

Even this munchkin in did well.

She said thank you when the doctor gave her back her snack trap that had fallen to the floor!

Heart.Swollen.With.Pride

Happy Birthday Grace!

2011-12-14T07:40:00.000-08:00

Today is Grace's official 3rd birthday...although we've been celebrating since Saturday!! More to come on her birthday parties...yes I said parties! hahaha

And today, to celebrate her REAL birthday, we have birthday wishes on the local news channel (see below) AND our first trip to the movie theater!

Happy Birthday Grace! Love you, love you, LOVE YOU sweet ~~baby~~ big girl!!
xoxox

Frozen Fog

2011-12-09T13:59:00.000-08:00

I think frozen fog is my new favorite winter weather...aside from being beach side somewhere during the winter months of course! hehe

All the beauty of a winter wonderland except

no shoveling the sidewalks or bad driving conditions!

Charlotte's tree

Grace's tree

Can you see the hop fields through the branches?

Gorgeous!

My fingers are crossed for a white Christmas!!

Holy S*#t! It's December!

2011-12-05T06:42:00.001-08:00

I seriously don't know what has happened to my ability to blog but to say it's lacking is an understatement. This time of year is just busy and with two little ones my computer time gets pushed to the back burner - or nap time! And because it is busy - during any downtime I have - I am getting ready for the next *thing*.

Hopefully, I will be able to back post one of these days about my 6th wedding anniversary, Thanksgiving, our first annual North Pole Breakfast, my birthday and all the happenings of Grace and Charlotte. {Charlotte says Thank You...and please. But mainly thank you! She is so polite!}

I am in the process of uploading photos today. So hopefully, I'll get something decent pulled together soon! Until then, 20 days until Christmas...do you have all your shopping done?!?! I definitely don't and starting to have small anxiety attacks. Because once the shopping is done, then the wrapping begins. UGH! But first things first.... Grace's 3rd birthday party this weekend! Stay tuned!

North Pole Breakfast 2011

2011-12-01T09:07:00.000-08:00

{First, I can take no responsibility in coming up with North Pole Breakfast - an annual celebration to welcome our little Elf Friend.

I found it here.

I don't know how or where I came across this blog but she is a creative genius and everything she does is warm and with love. She is one fantastic and creative mama....and I hope that through her inspiration I can send a little of that warmth and love to Grace and Charlotte.}

Ok...so without further ado

NORTH POLE BREAKFAST 2011

I got up at 4 am today - thus the bad lighting {again} in all my pictures - to help Elfie (our Elf on the Shelf) get his breakfast prepared for the girls! What a way to kick off the holiday season!

Elfie found a FREE Merry Christmas banner (the day before he showed up) and asked me to assemble it so I literally put this together the morning of.

Elfie LOVES Santa so it made sense to be surrounded by our Santa collection as we welcomed Elfie for the next 24 nights. He brought small gifts for the girls, advent calendars and breakfast!

Breakfast consisted of powdered sugar donuts - because they look snow covered - and hot cocoa! Mmmm!

Did you know that Elves love candy? Particularly Christmas candy?

Well they do! They love it!

And to show Elfie our love and appreciation we set out our gingerbread houses...kind of like leaving cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve!

The girls upon waking up.

It took Grace a bit to warm up....Charlotte squealed with joy almost instantaneously on seeing the breakfast spread.

I think Grace recognized it was a Kodak moment...I was flashing away...and thus made it that more special by giving her little sister a big kiss!

I kept asking Grace to smile... It cracks me up!

I finally asked her to show me sad...and the bottom right is what she came up with.

Donuts straight from the North Pole.

Charlotte didn't like the donuts! Or the cocoa for that matter. NOT.ONE. BIT! hahahh

So the entire point of the North Pole breakfast is to welcome Elfie, of course, but it is also the perfect time to kick off the advent season! I love me a good countdown!

Elfie consulted a few family members on what kind of advent calendars the girls would like.

Auntie M suggested the kind with chocolate...who doesn't love a chocolate surprise each day while counting down to the best day of the year, right?

And Nana knows how much Grace loves the Disney princesses so....what's better than opening TWO advent calendars each day?!

The first chocolates from the advent calendar!

Jackpot!

Elfie wrote notes to the girls explaining how happy he was to be with us again and that he's hoping each girl will be good so he can give Santa a good report when he flies home to the North Pole each night!

He also brought a DVD for the girls that is a movie ALL about Elfie and it explains why they can't touch him or else he'll lose his Christmas magic!

(Man why didn't I think of a little Elf and all the stuff you can market right along with it? I'm thinking the Easter Bunny might need a side kick? Thoughts?)

Elfie brought little gifts as well! He is SUCH a nice guy!

Balloons - a BIG hit!

North Pole breakfast was coming to an end but Elfie had one more trick up his sleeve. Cleverly wrapped in paper all the way from the North Pole (candy can wrapping paper hehehe) Elfie had something special for each girl. Charlotte couldn't wait to start unwrapping...

and Grace couldn't wait to plug in her NEW Santa night light...

He's pretty cute! And he gives their rooms a special Christmas-y glow when we turn out the lights!

So that was our first annual North Pole Breakfast! We look forward to hosting Elfie this holiday season and in the years to come!

If you host a North Pole breakfast, I'd love to hear about...or better yet, see pictures!

Happy Holidays!

Hard to Believe It's Over

2011-11-21T06:55:00.001-08:00

Yesterday, we dropped off a rather large donation of baby supplies to our local Salvation Army. It was bittersweet. Swings, nursing pillows, bounce chairs - a local family in need of "all-things-pink" is going to make a haul....which makes me happy.

But I have to admit. I am sad. I don't know why really. I have two, healthy, VIBRANT daughters and I am SO lucky. Beyond lucky. But still, the realization that the baby years are already behind me is enough to bring tears to my eyes as I type. Sure, for vanity reasons...am I really that old? But mainly because babies are wonderful. They are a joy - even through the sleepless nights and months of morning sickness - there is no greater joy.

But when push comes to shove and my heart and brain have a long talk about more children, my brain seems to always win out. Because cute, wonderful bundles of baby-joy grow up. They require trips to the doctor, clothing and all the basic necessities of life. And the basic necessities of life quickly add up. (READ: Three college tuitions! GULP!!)

And while we turn the corner into the toddler years, it's just really hard to believe it's all over. For the best, I realize, for so many reasons. But sometimes - most of the time - logic just doesn't make a lot of sense to the heart.

Halloween Party 2011

2011-11-03T10:38:00.000-07:00

If it isn't clear to you yet that I love Halloween, then here it is in black and white.

I love Halloween!

When I found out that Grace and her classmates weren't going to be able to dress-up at school, I took it upon myself to provide a place for the kids to have a special Halloween celebration. (Yes we could've dragged the girls out to trick or treat but where we live that would be more trouble than it's worth ESPECIALLY since trick or treating would be well past Charlotte's bedtime!)

I say sleep while we can!

So back to the party...

I invited only a few of the kids from Grace's class (which killed me because I hate to leave anyone out) but with moms and younger siblings in tow it quickly became a FULL house!

Before we get to the pictures I have to say one thing. I took all these pictures in the midst of hosting the party. Lesson learned!

At Charlotte's first birthday party, I was able to sign my brother up for camera duty and he did a fantastic job! He captured all the details and all the priceless moments. Me on the other hand...didn't do so hot.

I didn't get any pictures of the final dessert table NOR the snack spread! The lighting is horrible because most were taken the night before the party during set up mode with my iPhone.

So Uncle Johnny roo...if you are reading...you are officially hired!!

The dessert table.

Seeing these pictures kill me because you don't see any of the homemade pumpkin cookies I made from scratch or the cupcakes I made (from scratch) or the cute little cupcake toppers I made. Sad!

In the very back you see empty cones where the cotton candy would eventually be placed.

But it was all there...I promise!

A lot of the decorations I've been collecting for years.

Like the Halloween tree, ornaments, candles, etc.

I did make the trick or treat banner and the little signs and the goody bags.

I recently purchased my first glue gun and I'm telling you it was probably the best buy of the year!

$5 at Wal-Mart!

Charlotte getting ready for the party.

Grace channeling her inner-devil!

We tried to get all the kids outside for a picture. This proved to be difficult. They all wanted to sit about a mile apart from one another which made capturing their expressions impossible. But you can see two of the big brothers holding their younger siblings in their laps which was priceless.

Elmo (seen in the background) wanted nothing to do with the group photo...little does he know I was able to get him in there! hahah

The only thing I didn't make were the party hats and aren't they the cutest things you ever did see?!

The white hats were for the girls because the orange rosette is actually a hair clippie that the girls can wear in their hair. Beyond clever, right?

The black hats were for the boys. No magical clippie for the boys. Sorry boys.

On to the entertainment...

you can't have a party without games can you?

The first game we played was ghost bowling.

Again, I didn't get any pictures because I was busy making sure no one threw a bowling ball (aka a baby pumpkin at a baby brother or sister).

Ghost bowling was fun and easy to make. Basically, I lined up 6 rolls of toilet paper like a pyramid, slapped a few black circles on each one to make it look like a ghost and let the kids fire a baby pumpkin at it to knock it down.

Pure Halloween magic!

The next game was Witch Pitch.

I found this game online and followed a tutorial provided here.

The lady was crazy with the detail so I improved it (if you can believe that) by using peel off letters bought at wal-mart and trimming it with pipe cleaner. Much easier! Again, thank god I bought a glue gun!

The gist of the game was to throw candy corn into the cauldrons.

(This is a picture of the one I made.)

And here is a picture of the kids playing Witch Pitch.

They didn't quite catch on to throwing the candy corn into the cauldrons but they did quickly realize that candy corn is just that...candy! So a few pieces would go to the game and a few pieces ended up in their mouths! Pretty cute actually!

Finally, we had pin the tail on the cat. I found this at the grocery store and even bought a blind fold. But when it came time to play this game, the thought or blind folding and getting each kid to do it seemed beyond doable.

So we just let them take a tail and put it on the cat with vision fully intact. They seemed to enjoy it!

It entertained them for a few minutes and that was the point.

After games, we settled down for some pizza. The kids gobbled it down. They were starving...or they needed to balance out all the sugar in their little bodies.

Then we had more sugar...dessert!

Pumpkin sugar cookies.

Apparently, Grace only likes the frosting. She scraped it ALL off the cookie!

Finally, it was time for the kids to go home. Naps were in order if they were going to go trick or treating later that evening. Before leaving, each guest got a goody bag. The ant-looking thing is a sucker wrapped up to look like a spider. I got this nifty idea from April who happened to share it with me the Friday before the party. When I looked around, I realized I had all the supplies so I literally made all these about an hour before guests arrived!

Charlotte took about a 5 hour nap after the party. Grace didn't sleep a wink!

Even with a restless toddler shadowing me all afternoon, I had the house picked up and de-Halloweened before Court got home from work.

It was a ton of fun and I can't wait to do it again next year!

*If you have any questions on decor, games, etc. I'd be happy to answer them. Send me a comment and I will follow up with you ASAP!

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T09:12:00.000-07:00

Hope it is a sweet day!

Big Weekend

2011-10-30T16:22:00.000-07:00

Family over for dinner on Friday. Dinner with more family on Saturday night and a Halloween party on Monday! Busy, busy, busy! I didn't know how I was going to get everything done! There was decorating, and cooking and baking...oh my!...to do. But then, this little miracle happened.

Grace climbed into bed with Daddy - who was already napping - and fell asleep all on her own volition.

No prompting, no pleading and no bribing.

I looked up from a pile of cookies yet to be frosted and thought "uh oh!" The house is awfully quiet...that can only mean one thing. But I was wrong. Soooo wrong! Nothing could have made me happier!

The house was quiet. Everyone was sleeping. I had two hands AND my mind all to myself!

I happily and quickly plowed through the cupcakes and cookies needing frosting and thoroughly enjoyed every second!

Halloween Warm-Up

2011-10-30T16:10:00.000-07:00

Heading out the door to Nana and Boppa's house, I couldn't resist taking a few pictures of the girls with their pumpkins (so kindly given to them by April and family).

Grace was a little camera shy...or obstinate. However you want to say it!

During the month preceding Halloween, Charlotte has carried this little pumpkin with her just about everywhere. Can you see the little bite marks on it?

She is teething...BIG time!

The first time she stuck this in her mouth I just about jumped out of my skin!

But then I made her do it about 10 times juuuust so I could get a picture of the spider in her mouth with the spider on her shirt!

Jumping Beans

2011-10-27T14:28:00.000-07:00

Not sure what is in our water but it must have similar properties as jumping beans because...

Exhibit A

Grace jumping at gymnastics

Exhibit B

Grace AND Charlotte jumping on the bed

Things are officially crazy around here!

Unintentional Break

2011-10-26T13:32:00.000-07:00

I think this is the longest stint I've gone without a blog post since I started blogging in 2008. All I can say is that this is a hectic and busy time of the year!

The weather turned a few weeks back to rain and dreariness!

Luckily, we had hit the Nordstrom sale a few months back and were prepared with some bright and warm outfits.

Not matching...

but they do color correspond.

We had Uncle Johnny-roo over for dinner! The girls love him

and he is beyond good with them!

Notice the art in the background?!

I am happy to report that things are going much better with Grace at school.

I think she is still shy and a bit reserved at times - there are no more tears at drop-off!

Progress!

She is talking and singing up a storm!

Singing is probably her favorite thing to do!

She does it before falling asleep, in the shower (yes, she has decided that she will no longer take baths) and when she is playing by herself.

Some of her songs are the usual suspects - Itsy Bitsy Spider, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, etc. - but others she makes up. Usually, they are some new word or phrase she's picked up. Which is completely scary because never have I been more aware of how much she is listening and hearing EVERYTHING I say.

It all gets regurgitated in her little "songs!"

I really need to get it on video!

We snuck in a jaunt to Boise. The weather was phenomenal. We spent lots of time with Grandma and Grandpa and knocked lots of errands off the list...including hair cuts.

If it weren't for the bottle she would look completely like a kid! Like a switch, the baby seems just about gone. It has been crazy fast!

Grace's new do. Lots of volume!

About a month ago, Charlotte started a new trick. I got it on video back then but haven't gotten it up on the blog until now. It seriously is one of my favorite things!

In other exciting news, while out on a run I ran over a snake with the Double BOB stroller. I couldn't figure out what was brushing my leg until I looked down and saw a snake recoiling.

There aren't words to describe the sound that I made or the fear. All I can say is that I haven't run that fast in a long time. Every leaf or branch or twig that I brushed into along the way only sparred me to run faster. Everyone asks me what kind of snake it was...as if I had time or the where-with-all to study the markings and colorings on the snake so as to identify it later on.

All I know is it was a snake. It touched me. And I ran like a bat out of hell!

In honor of the fast approaching Halloween holiday, we had Charlotte wear her little pumpkin hat. Adorable!

Last but not least, Grace has mastered her tricycle. So we've been getting outside everyday and enjoying the crisp fall days. Have I mentioned I love this time of year?

Won't be long until this one has the trike all figured out!

That is all. Just a quick little post about what we've been up to.